Library Grand Re-Opening Celebration

If you haven't seen the Main Library since it re-opened last month, this is your special chance for us to show off the new and improved features.

Ribbon cutting and events begin at 10:00 AM. Refreshments will be served afterwards along with trivia games, prizes and live music. Demonstrations for our new mobile shelving and latest online resources will be available throughout the day.

NIST Virtual Library (NVL) Web Site (WB 3/19-26) - A Clarification

The Boulder Labs Library web site (http://library.bldrdoc.gov) provides the most direct access to the electronic resources available to NIST Boulder researchers. Not all of the resources listed on the NIST Virtual Library (NVL) are accessible to Boulder users. Resources accessible to NIST Boulder employees via the (NVL) are primarily provided by subscriptions arranged and paid for by the Boulder Labs Library. Access to our subscriptions is set up by IP address. It does not matter what web site is used to access the resource as long as the computer used and, therefore, its IP comes from our campus. For example, if the Boulder Labs Library subscribes to a resource that is listed on the NVL or any other web site, you will be able to access it from an on-site computer. On the other hand, if we do not subscribe to a resource, it won't be accessible through any web site including the NVL.

Free Web of Science Online Training

Thomson is pleased to offer online training programs to help you get the best results from their products. The training is provided using the online conferencing tool WebEx. WebEx lets class attendees view a live presentation over the Internet and interact with the class instructor and attendees.

Enrollment Information:

Thomson (was ISI) training courses are free and there is no charge for joining the teleconference (North America only). To attend a class all you need is a computer with Internet access and a phone.

The Boulder Labs Library also provides one-on-one training and Quick Reference Guides for Thomson Products, including Web of Science, Cited Reference Searching and INSPEC. Pick up these guides at either the Main or Branch Library or call x3271 to have one mailed to you. For information about on-site training, contact Heather McCullough.

Open Access & Scientific Publishing - SciDev.net
"By dramatically reducing the cost of disseminating information, the Internet is revolutionising science publishing. Developing countries could benefit substantially, but calls for scientific information to be made freely available are controversial.

In the current interval between the two sessions of the World Summit on the Information Society, this section presents news, features and opinion articles, details of free access initiatives and literature, links to key reports, meeting proceedings and future events, and a chance for you to add your own comment."

Washington DC Principles for Free Access to Science
"The DC Principles outlines the commitment of not-for-profit publishers to work in partnership with scholarly communities such as libraries to 'ensure that these communities are sustained, science is advanced, research meets the highest standards and patient care is enhanced with accurate and timely information.'"

Updated Library Web Site

The Library's parent organizations, NOAA, NFA (now NCFAS: NOAA Corporate Finance and Administrative Services) and MASC (now defunct), are in the process of implementing a "corporate look and feel" to their web sites. In accordance with this new requirement, the Library web site must be redesigned.

The organizational structure was not altered, just the design. It's our intention to make the site transition smooth and seamless so that you can find what you need quickly and easily. URLs / page locations did not move or were not renamed, so there is no need to change your bookmarks. Questions or suggestions are encouraged and may be sent to Heather McCullough.

The Value of Literature Reviews, Libraries, and Librarians

A July 2004 BAMS (Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society) article (PDF) compares the pros and cons when conducting scientific research. The author, David Schultz, explores three possible approaches:

Doing It Yourself

Librarian-Assisted Searches

Librarian As Collaborator

Schultz concludes: "Electronic availability of information is changing the relationship between scientists and librarians. Yet, despite these changes, books on library shelves and knowledgeable human librarians remain essential to the scientific enterprise."

Jeff Rosenfeld's editorial in the same July 2004 issue entitled: Don't Shelve Those Librarians, also stresses the importance of librarians and Atmospheric Science Librarians International (ASLI), a group that meets at the annual American Meteorological Society conferences.

"Librarians can play an integral role in science, by not only assisting scientists to locate relevant materials, but, by being knowledgeable in meteorology and actively participating in the research process."

Special Note: Schultz dedicated the article to one of our reference librarians, Katherine Day, and to all of us at the Boulder Labs Library. We appreciate the support and we enjoy providing quality service to our researchers.

Tropical Cyclone Resources

Did you know that tropical cyclones are all the same with different names? They're called "Cyclones" in the Indian Ocean and Australia (also "Willy-Willies"), "Typhoons" in the western Pacific Ocean and "Hurricanes" in the Atlantic and Caribbean Oceans.

Katherine Day's Retirement

After 19+ years of exemplary and dedicated service at the Boulder Labs Library, Katherine and her husband Gordon are off to Washington, DC, where she will find lots of new resources for genealogy research and time to enjoy reading and sightseeing.